A Romantic Christmas
by Queen of the Scorpions
Summary: Virgil had had his fair share of lonely Christmases, but the others seemed to be determined that this year would not be one of them. Prinxiety one shot.


Virgil's Christmas Story

A ROMANtic Christmas

Christmas time had always been a bad time for Virgil. He'd never been part of the festivities before… he'd never been allowed. He remembered the first time he'd attempted to join the christmas party in the mind palace. It was a couple years ago, Thomas was sixteen, and Virgil had been sad that he'd never been invited to the parties. He'd taken a long time to gather up the courage to ask, thinking they might've just assumed he didn't want to come. He'd even changed his clothes, hoping maybe they'd be more likely to accept him if he seemed more festive. He'd put on a black sweater with a little, grey christmas present stitched into it. He'd brought along four presents that he'd worked hard for weeks to make. He knew there wouldn't be a present for him, and he was okay with that.

He'd come up to the door to the commons area of the mind palace and knocked, hardly daring to get his hopes up. Roman had been the one to answer the door. Virgil had did his best to smile and looked up at Roman hopefully. When he asked if he could join them, Roman had laughed at him and slammed the door in his face. Feeling thoroughly dejected and depressed, Virgil had made his way back to his room, where he curled up with his black cat, Amy-lee, and refused to move again until the next morning.

He had no hopes for this year any more than he had for any of the others. He knew what he'd be doing. He'd be in his room, in his pajamas, with his cat, watching the Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Black Cauldron and eating popcorn and bitter chocolate until he fell asleep. He'd already settled into the nest of comforters and pillows he'd tossed in front of the TV and switched on the first movie when he heard a timid knock on his door. He paused the movie and got up, slightly mad that someone bothered him. He swung the door open with a sneer. His expression melted into kinder one when he saw Patton standing in front of his door, his eyes shining with worry.

"Virgil, are you feeling okay kiddo?" He asked.

"Yeah," He said slowly. "Why wouldn't I be? Is something wrong with Thomas?" Patton shook his head.

"Nothing like that." He said. "The christmas party started a few minutes ago, and you didn't show up." Virgil blinked, and felt his face slide into a scowl.

"Because I'm not going." He growled. He closed the door. He was mad now. When he wanted to be part of their parties, they didn't have the time for him, and now that all he wanted to do was be alone with his movies and his cat, they had to come try to make him come to a party? That wasn't fair, and he wasn't having it. He'd already been part of their little christmas carol and everything, so why couldn't they just leave him alone? He settled back into his blankets and pressed play. Amy-lee gazed steadily at him with an expression that clearly said, "really, you're going to hang in here in the dark alone when you have another option?". He scooped her up into his arm and snuggled into her warm fur, listening to her soft purring. Someone knocked on the door again. He paused his movie again, got up, and wrenched the door open with his signature sneer. Remy was standing in the doorway. He looked over the top of his sunglasses at him and pursed his lips. He looked him up and down.

"C'mon loser, we're going out." He said. He had swapped his cup of coffee out for a mug of eggnog and had reindeer antlers on.

"No." Virgil said coldly, moving to close the door.

"Yes." Remy insisted, shoving the door back open and grabbing Virgil's wrist.

"Remy, no!" Virgil argued, attempting to pull away from him, but failing.

"Remy, yes." He corrected him.

"I'm not even dressed!" Virgil yelled. "I don't even have eyeshadow on."

"I know." Remy replied, tugging him out the door and into the hallway. Amy-lee mewed and shut the door with her head.

"Traitor!" Virgil growled at her through the door. Remy gave a particularly strong, one-handed tug. Virgil ceased his yelling and arguing, but dropped to the ground and forced Remy to drag him all the way to the commons area by the collar of his old hoodie that he only wore to bed anymore. Remy opened the door with his shoulder and foot, which Virgil normally would've found impressive but now only found annoying, and dragged him into the party.

"Virgil!" Patton clapped, and jumped up and down.

"I almost didn't recognize you without your makeup." Roman laughed, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. Virgil's eyes adjusted to the much more brightly lit room and he began to take everything in. There was a huge christmas tree in the corner, covered in decorations and lights in intricate, beautiful patterns that made him think Logan may have decorated. Logan was wearing his unicorn pajamas, sitting by a table on which stood a huge bowl of eggnog, a ladle, and half a dozen mugs. Patton was sitting at the base of the tree, with a present bow stuck in his hair and a small piece of tape on his nose. He was in his cat pajamas. Three eyeshadow pallets, makeup brushes, and various lipsticks were strewn on the rug on the floor in front of a warm, cozy-looking fireplace. He looked up at Roman who was in a matching shirt and pants set that was simply white with a disney logo pattern.

"Imma go change, mkay?" Remy shouted while he walked out the door. "Don't do makeup without me."

"Sure thing, Remy!" Patton called after him.

"Kay, I showed up… can I go now?" Virgil asked.

"No." Logan replied simply.

"Come on, Virgil, even Logan mostly participates." Roman said. "You've got to come be a part of it."

"That's not what you said last time." Virgil murmured bitterly.

"What'd you say?" Roman asked, curiously.

"Nothing." Virgil snapped.

"Come on, Virgil." Patton sighed. "I know you didn't want to come, but maybe if you just let loose you'll have fun."

"I find that if I pretend that I want to be here, It quickly becomes much more enjoyable than I originally felt it was looking at it with a pre-determined negative attitude." Logan agreed, standing from his chair.

"And you're dressed as a unicorn, and I'm not." Virgil pointed out.

"Unicorns are a practical and distinguished breed of wise mythological creature that should be respected." Logan replied evenly.

"Whatever you say." Virgil sighed.

"Come, now Virgil. It'll be fun. Logan's going to let us put makeup on him this year." Roman said excitedly.

"Makeup?" Virgil repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, well it's a tradition Remy, Roman, and I do every year. It was kind of inspired by you, really. We started doing each other's makeup every Christmas Eve in a way the reflects their Personality. It's so fun!" Patton grinned.

"Besides, Virgil, it would be rude of you to leave now when Patton's gone through all the trouble of wrapping up your presents for you." Logan said.

"Presents?"

"Oh my Disney, you poor thing. See, Virgil, a present is something-"

"I know what a present is, Roman." Virgil sighed wearily.

"You didn't think you were going to get any presents did you?" Patton asked sadly.

"No." Virgil replied truthfully.

"Awwwww, viiirge." Patton hopped up and hugged him.

"Woah, okay!" Virgil laughed nervously. "Don't-don't do that." Patton released him from the hug.

"Aw, okay." Patton said quietly.

"I'm back!" Remy threw the door open, and Patton, Roman, and Logan gave a cheer(Though Logan's was rather unenthusiastic). Remy was wearing the same outfit as he was before, except he now had a lampshade on his head, strung with Christmas lights.

"WHY?" Virgil asked exasperatedly. "Why would anyone own that?"

"I could say the same about that hoodie." Remy answered with incredible amounts of sass.

"You wear those clothes to sleep?" Virgil asked.

"Sleep? Never met her." Remy replied.

"But you're literally the embodiment of… okay." He gave up trying to understand.

"So are you staying Virgil?" Roman asked. Virgil thought for a moment, knowing an unimpressed, bored look was on his face. He looked over at Logan, who was looking at him with something akin to hope. He then looked over to Remy, who was standing in about the sassiest pose humanly possible, and chugging eggnog, but still looking steadily at him over the top of his sunglasses. His gaze shifted to Patton, who's eyes were sparkling eagerly. Then, he looked up to Roman. His eyes were beseeching, and Virgil thought he noticed a slight bit of blush forming on his cheeks that was almost, kind of, cute… ish.

"Come on, Virgil." Roman begged. "I'll let you put eyeshadow on me, and I'll do yours." Virgil raised an eyebrow at him. He tried to imagine Roman in eyeshadow, and his face reluctantly began to spread into a small smile.

"Uh… sure, okay… but hold on, I need to go get something." Virgil suddenly remembered something he'd left back in his room. "You guys can start without me… I'll be right back."

"Okay, but if you're not back in five minutes, we're sending Remy after you again." Logan threatened.

"I'll be fast." Virgil said quickly, then took off down the hall. He reached the door to his room and swung it open. Amy-lee looked at him, clearly unimpressed. "Keep it to yourself, I'm just grabbing the presents." He told her. Her look softened and she nuzzled his leg, purring loudly. Virgil gathered up the four presents that he had made all those years ago, that he hadn't the heart to throw out, and walked back out into the hall. Amy-lee mewed at him, and pushed the door closed behind him. He walked swiftly down the hall, taking care not to drop anything, and tapped on the door with his foot. Roman was the one to open it, and suddenly all Virgil could think about was what happened the last time he'd thought about having Christmas with the others. His heart began to race, pounding in his chest. He felt like he was sixteen again, and that Roman was about to slam the door in his face and shatter his hope of being accepted. Roman smiled broadly, it really was a nice smile.

"Aw, Virgil, you brought presents?" He asked, stepping aside to let him in. Virgil shuffled shyly over the threshold and looked down so his bangs would cover the blush forming on his cheeks.

"Yeah." He said quietly. Patton hopped up to help set them down under the tree.

"I thought you weren't originally planning on coming." Logan said.

"I wasn't." Virgil admitted. "I made these a long time ago." He flipped his hair out of his eyes, and chanced a look at Roman. He was looking at him with realization and guilt. Virgil gave him his signature half smile, and almost thought Roman may have blushed. Must've been the Christmas lights. In Virgil's absence, sandwiches and chips had been put out on the table next to the eggnog, which was now sitting in a bed of ice, and platters of cheeses and fruits had been set on a second table. Chocolates and other candies and been set next to them.

"Since everyone's here now, let's start the first game!" Patton offered, holding up a bowl full of paper shreds. Virgil eyed it apprehensively.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"You'll see." Roman responded, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the rug by the fire. Virgil stiffened at Roman holding his hand, but relaxed again when they sat down.

"Here's what's going to happen." Logan said to Virgil as he, Patton, and Remy filled in the circle. "We're going to take turns passing the bowl around. You draw a question from the bowl, and then decide who you want to direct it to. The person has to answer honestly." Virgil gulped and shifted nervously.

"I'm not sure I want to play." He said.

"Too bad, you're doing it." Roman said.

"Don't worry kiddo." Patton comforted him. "There's no hard questions in here, it's all for fun." Virgil nodded, but he still did not want to play. Patton reached into the bowl, and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Logan, what's your favorite word and why?" Patton asked.

"Aegilops." He responded. "It's the longest spoken word in the English dictionary in which all the letters are arranged alphabetically." Patton passed the bowl to him.

"Roman, what would you say your greatest achievement is?"

"Oo," he seemed to think for a second. "My hairstyle." He said finally. " It's the most beautiful thing I've ever created."

"Oof, honey no." Remy said, as the bowl was passed to Roman. Roman wrinkled his nose up at him, and drew a question.

"Fine, then what's your biggest regret, Remy?" Roman asked after reading the paper. Remy took the bowl from him after saying,

"Sorry, hon, no regrets." He fished around in the bowl for a second, then pulled out a slip of paper. "Hey, Patton honey, what's your least favorite thing about the holidays?" Patton's brow furrowed for a second.

"That the days get so short." He said earnestly. Remy passed him the bowl and Patton looked up at Virgil.

"I guess this means that this question is for you." Patton said. He plucked one off the top of the pile and read it. "Is there someone that you particularly like or are interested in?" Virgil's blood ran cold. That was the one question he didn't want to answer. They probably would have believed him if he said no, but he didn't want to lie to them on purpose. That would make him just as bad as they used to think he was. That would make as bad as deceit, and if they found out... He swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry kiddo, you don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. I'll draw a new one." Virgil shook his head.

"It's fine he mumbled." His hand jumped up to rub the back of his neck, subconsciously. "And, uh… yeah, yeah there is." He forced himself to not look over to Roman as he took the bowl from Patton. Patton had a huge, happy smile. Logan looked mildly curious. Remy gave him a look that plainly said, "Imma find out who". Roman had a strange look on his face that almost seemed… sad. Virgil cleared his throat, then reached into the bowl and plucked out a paper.

"Remy, what's your biggest pet peeve?" They continued playing and asking questions until there was only one more paper left in the bowl. It was Roman's turn to ask, so he picked up the paper and looked at it quizzically for a moment. He pursed his lips and looked over at Remy.

"Really, Remy? That's just rude." He said.

"What?" Remy feigned feeling insulted. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"What does it say, Roman?" Patton asked.

"All it says is, who is it." Roman answered, throwing the paper into the fireplace. Virgil turned his best "I'm seriously done with you" look on Remy who just winked at him. Virgil rolled his eyes.

"So, are you having fun so far?" Patton asked him. The truth was, yes. He was having a lot of fun, and it made him feel really good to be a part of everything. He shrugged.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be." He grudgingly admitted.

"Yay!" Patton called happily.

"What's next, Patton?" Roman asked, hopping up and extending his hand to Virgil to help him to his feet. Remy went to go fill his mug back up with eggnog.

"How about we do makeup now?" He offered.

"We should do Logan's first." Remy said, taking a huge gulp out of his cup. Logan sighed.

"Let's get this over with." He said. Virgil held back a smile while he watched Roman and Remy trying to put makeup on Logan, who kept flinching violently, claiming they were poking his eye, even though they hadn't touched him with a makeup brush yet. Patton was outwardly laughing with a huge smile, holding the makeup pallets up for them. Eventually, Logan changed his mind and said he didn't want to put on makeup anymore, so Remy tackled him to the ground and held him down. Roman sat on his legs to keep him from squirming and kicking so much.

"Virgil, come help us!" Roman called laughingly, trying to keep Logan still. Virgil bit back a laugh, but came forward anyway. It took them a while, with Remy, Virgil, and Roman switching between sitting on his legs, holding him down, and actually putting the makeup on him, but they finally got it done, much to Logan's dismay, and when it was finished, it didn't look all that bad. They'd given him somewhat of a smokey eye that was a dark blue and black ombre. Virgil had added two dark blue gems on each cheek, claiming that if Logan was going to dress as a unicorn, he was going all the way. Everyone had laughed at that, including Logan, and it actually made Virgil feel quite good. They did Patton next, and Roman actually had Virgil do most of it. It came out rather nice. They'd chosen to do a sort of sunset thing that was light blue, fading into pink, that faded into yellow. Roman, at Remy's suggestion and much to Patton's delight, drew whiskers on him with an eyeliner pencil. After that they did Remy's. They gave him a grey and black smokey eye and he even put on a bright red lipstick that Roman had thrown at him when he claimed he looked better in makeup than Roman did. Roman requested that Virgil do his makeup by himself, because he didn't want Remy to since he was so obviously trying to prove that he looked better. Virgil had laughed at that, but agreed to anyway and gave Roman a sunset of red, fiery orange, and shimmering gold, and dusted gold sparkles over his cheeks. Roman picked up an eyeshadow palette and a brush.

"Okay, Virgil, your turn." He said with a smile. Virgil took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and tilted his head up toward Roman. It felt weird and slightly dangerous, letting someone touch his face, especially while he had his eyes closed, but he held as still as possible while Roman lathered what felt like foundation onto his face and color onto his eyelids. He heard Patton coo and sigh a few times, but other than that, no one was making any sound.

"Alright!" Roman cried victoriously. "You're done Virge." He held up a mirror for him to look into, and Virgil gasped. Roman had put a pale foundation on him… a color similar to the one he had used as a teenager. He'd done under his eyes like dripping water but with a ombre that faded from pitch black to purple. His eyelids were entirely black, but dusted with silver glitter. Three silver lightning bolts were grouped near the corner of both of his eyes.

"Wow." He breathed, not thinking about what he was beginning to say. "This is amazing Roman." He felt himself blush again, and hoped that they couldn't see it through the foundation. Roman beamed, looking proud of himself.

"Now we all have our makeup done, what's next." He looked over at Patton.

"Let's open presents now!" He said. He turned around and picked up a large black box with a purple bow. "Open this one first, Virgil. It's from me!" He smiled really big. Virgil gave a small smile and slowly reached out for the box. He took the lid off and looked inside. He inhaled sharply, and tried not to tear up. He should've known he'd react like this to getting his first present.

"Patton… thank you." Virgil whispered, taking it out of the box. It was a large, seemingly hand-made quilt. One side was completely black with a large purple and white storm cloud embroidered into it. The other was made of dozens of squares of cloth in an alternating pattern between being plain black, plain grey, black with a storm cloud, purple, black, and grey plaid, and purple with a little black kitten.

"You're welcome Kiddo." Patton beamed at him.

"My gifts seem kind of dumb now." Virgil mumbled, self-consciously.

"Don't be ridiculous, Virgil. I'm sure your gifts are grand." Roman said kindly, as he studied the outside of the present Virgil had brought for him. It was simply wrapped in red with a white and gold ribbon, but he seemed to find that it looked rather good, because he took the paper off slowly and didn't rip it. He gasped when he saw what it was. Virgil, when they were sixteen, had discovered that he had quite a knack for sculpture, though he was always highly critical of his work. He had made a spun glass dragon and water marbled it yellow, white, and red for Roman.

"Virgil…" He began weakly. "D-did you make this?" Virgil nodded, embarrassed. "It's gorgeous." He said quietly.

"Virgil!" Patton gasped. He too, had opened his present. He was holding the clay figurine of a light grey and white cat with a little blue cardigan around its neck. "This is sooooooo cute, and I thought that card was so great… Oh, I love both of them!Thank you!" He squeezed Virgil in a tight hug.

"You're- you're welcome Pat." Virgil patted his head awkwardly. Roman was still gazing blankly at him, as though he'd never seen him properly before.

"Oh my god, Virgil, yes." Remy said, holding his present up like a trophy. Virgil had made him a mug even larger than the one he had earlier that night that had a pair of sunglasses painted on it alongside the message, "No rest for the wicked".

"Your craftsmanship on this piece is remarkable." Logan claimed. Virgil had created a more intellectual piece for him. It was of an owl perched upon a turtle, which was atop the back of an elephant, which was standing upon the pages of an open book. "I appreciate and admire this." Logan told him with a smile. Virgil gave a nervous half-smile in return.

"Virgil- I- this is- I don't know what to say." Roman said, staring down at his gift. "This is the most beautiful dragon I've ever seen in my life."

"It was based off you." Virgil admitted quietly. Roman's cheeks turned scarlet beneath the gold glitter. Patton giggled.

"Oh so that's who." Remy said slyly. It was Virgil's turn to turn scarlet.

"I have no idea what you mean." Virgil lied, then cringed as he realized what he said.

"Mhm." Remy said sarcastically.

"Okay, maybe I do." He amended. "But, shut it."

"What are we talking about?" Roman asked.

"Roman you can be so clueless sometimes." Logan sighed.

"We're talking about how Virgil has a crush on you." Patton giggled again.

"Wait but- Virgil doesn't- I mean, he isn't- wait, what?" Roman's blush had spread across his whole face. Virgil stood up.

"Thanks for the quilt Patton, but I think I'm gonna go now." He mumbled. And stay in my room forever, he thought to himself.

"Virgil, wait!" Roman called, urgently. Remy grabbed Virgil's wrist. Roman cleared his throat and gently sat the dragon down on the table. "I mean, please don't go yet. We practically just got started." He stood and crossed over to Virgil.

"It's alright son, you don't have to be embarrassed or nervous." Patton said gently. "We understand, and no one thinks badly of you for it."

"Besides, you haven't opened my present to you yet." Logan said. Virgil raised his eyebrows a bit. He didn't expect to be getting a present from anyone besides Patton. Roman took his hands in his and looked into his eyes. Virgil felt as though his knees would give way under the intensity of his gaze.

"Don't leave yet." Roman purred. "I still have to give you your present." Virgil swallowed, but nodded. Roman smiled and slowly let go of his hands.

"I wasn't gonna let you leave anyway." Remy said, leaning back on the wall, he was already sipping eggnog from his new mug. Virgil gave a little smile. That night, Virgil had received a self-defence book from Logan that showed many different ways to beat the crud out of someone who touched you and a color changing mug from Remy that started black and gained purple lines and splotches when hot liquid was poured in it. Virgil cherished both of the gifts deeply. They talked, and ate, and laughed for a couple hours after that, but nothing spectacularly different happened until Roman stood up and said,

"Virgil, would you come with me for a moment? I'd like to give you your present in private." Virgil allowed him to pull him to his feet and swallowed.

"Sure, I guess." He mumbled. Remy was making kissy faces behind them, and Patton was quietly reprimanding him. Roman didn't let go of Virgil's hand as he led him just outside the door.

"Look, Virgil." Roman began. "I brought you out here, because I didn't want to embarass you, or make you uncomfortable by giving you this in front of everyone." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a little purple box tied shut with a silver ribbon. He gave it to Virgil, who blushed furiously as he opened it. Inside was a silver chain from which hung skulls of silver with amethyst eyes, and gold cats with matching gemstones. "I know a necklace is a bit… girly but-"

"Roman, shut up." Virgil interrupted him. "This is beautiful, I love it." Roman looked relieved.

"Oh, thank goodness. It might just be that we're standing in your hallway, but I suddenly felt like it wasn't going to be nearly good enough for you." He stepped toward him to help him clasp it around his neck. Virgil ducked his head down to hide his blush incase it could be seen through his foundation. Roman inhaled sharply.

"Virgil, look." Virgil looked up and followed his gaze to the mistletoe that was hanging right above their heads. Virgil felt as though he couldn't breathe. Roman raised an elegantly sculpted eyebrow at him. Virgil gathered up all his courage and stepped a bit closer to him. Roman leaned in, his eyes closed softly. Virgil too closed his eyes, and felt a pair of soft, warm lips brush against his own. Lightly, gently, hesitantly. He leaned into the feeling, deepening the kiss, and then opened his eyes when their lips parted. Roman's smile was so enchanting and charming. Roman led Virgil back into the party, holding his hand.

"Awwwwww," Patton cooed when he saw them. "You're so cute together."

"Come on losers, we're playing truth or dare!' Remy said. Virgil swallowed again. He glanced nervously at Roman, who grinned at him reassuringly, then sat down to play with them. The night ended with Roman and Patton singing christmas carols, Remy trying to tightrope walk across a limbo bar that he had somehow found in a random corner, and Logan and Virgil standing off in a corner aggressively rap battling each other and laughing their heads off. Laughing and singing, they all said goodnight and left to their rooms. Virgil was cradling his presents to his chest, taking care not to drop them.

"Virgil," A voice said from the shadows.

'What are you doing here?" Virgil snarled, hugging his presents tighter.

"Can't old friends visit each other on Christmas?" He asked.

"Sure they can, but that's not why you're here. I already told you that you're no longer welcome in Anxiety Hall, Judaes." He said coldly.

"I suppose that makes me just as welcome here as you are with them then doesn't it." Deceit said casually. Virgil's heart stopped for a second.

"Save it for someone who cares… oh wait, no one does." Virgil sneered.

"Your losing your edge." Deceit smirked.

"At least I have one to lose." Virgil countered coldly.

"You sound so much like one of them now, give it a little longer and they might actually start to like you." He hissed.

"They do like me." Virgil put much more confidence into his voice than he could feel. "Roman- and Roman loves me." He added defiantly.

"Of course he does." Deceit said in the tone of voice that suggested he was talking to a small, innocent child that thought they understood something that they really didn't. He turned and left through the secret passage into Deceit Hall that Virgil couldn't board up before another word could be spoken. Virgil stood there for a moment, his blood moving slowly, feeling cold, but his heart pumping wildly, burning him up on the inside. He took a deep, steadying breath, and continued down the hall toward his room. His door swung open upon contact with his elbow, and he shoved it closed with his foot. The sound of the lock clicking comforted him as he gently placed his presents on his bed. Amy-lee tipped her head to one side when she came to greet him.

"I know, I know. I look weird, I smell like the other lightsides, and I'm upset. It's a long story, girl." He said softly, picking her up and allowing her purrs to make him feel safe. He settled into his nest of blankets, wrapped himself in his new favorite quilt, pushed play, and snuggled into her warm fur. He sighed contentedly. This was the best Christmas he'd ever had.


End file.
